Greatest Albums of All Time
I am attempting the very difficult task of creating a list of the Greatest Music Albums of All Time (In My Opinion). There are just so many albums that I like! So I’ve narrowed it down to ten albums which I view as “epic” in some sense.
Clicking on an album cover will play a 30sec MP3 preview of something from the album.
I realize that some of my readers may wish to avoid albums with any objectionable content, so I have marked the albums (via the “Obj. Content?” column) which contain (small amounts of) offensive wording or themes. However, the vast majority of songs on these albums are completely innocuous (the song previews have been taken from such songs, of course).
Also, I want to hear from YOU!!! What are your favorite N albums (where N is an integer between 1 and 10)?
| Album Art | Name | Artist | Year | Description | Obj. Content? | |
| 1 |  |
Six and Twelve String Guitar | Leo Kottke | 1969 | Guitar from another dimension. | None |
| 2 |  |
Dark Side of the Moon | Pink Floyd | 1973 | Hi-fi existential musings. |
Language |
| 3 |  |
The Wall | Pink Floyd | 1979 | An investigation into insanity, in rock-opera form. | Language, Thematic Elements |
| 4 |  |
In Another Land | Larry Norman | 1976 | The father of Christian music at his finest. | None |
| 5 |  |
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness | The Smashing Pumpkins |
1995 | An eclectic mix of soothing melodies and thrashing guitars. | Language, Thematic Elements |
| 6 |  |
Led Zeppelin IV |
Led Zeppelin |
1971 | Blues and folk taken to the next level. |
Thematic Elements |
| 7 |  |
Who’s Next |
The Who | 1971 | The bass track is more like a bass solo! | None |
| 8 |  |
The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner |
Ben Folds Five |
1999 | Ben’s introspective musings mixed into a sea of piano and fuzzy bass. | Language |
| 9 |  |
The Roar of Love |
2nd Chapter of Acts |
1980 | The Chronicles of Narnia in rock opera form. | None |
| 10 |  |
Queen II |
Queen | 1974 | Mystical tales sung with an operatic flare. | None |
Posted: November 27th, 2007 under Music.
Comments
Comment from jeff
Time 2007/11/28 at 8:28 am
This reminds me of another unfinished debate…
I am attempting the very difficult task of creating a list of the Greatest Music Albums of All Time (In My Opinion).
Isn’t a list of N greatest Y items impossible, except when N = 1 or when Y is defined to include different distinctions?
For instance, you can have the greatest albums in 10 different genres (thus achieving a list of 10 albums) but not 10 greatest albums in the same category.
Comment from Jed
Time 2007/11/28 at 11:34 am
Wayne, thanks for the comments!! Glad to finally meet a fellow Larry Norman fan! I agree… Queen II is a masterfully textured album (harpsichord-driven chamber music, heavy punk/metal riffs, and screaming guitar solos, often in the same song!!). Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you will come back often!
Mr. Wheeler, unfortunately, this logic is somewhat flawed! 
You have failed to consider the case where Y is the greatest genre of all time (rock). I have simply linearly arranged all of the music albums which I view as “classic” (not discriminating between different genres), and have found that the top ten are (surprise) rock albums! Mathematics doesn’t stand in the way of that, does it? I’m still waiting to hear your favorites, by the way!!
Comment from jeff
Time 2007/11/29 at 9:21 am
My logic is flawed? I protest! 
However, as the topic of this post is music and not the proper use of the word “greatest”, I shall desist from taking the discussion further.
Regarding my favorites, I’ll have to reminisce and ponder some more…
Comment from Bethany Wheeler
Time 2007/11/29 at 9:52 am
My favorite album is Rebecca St. James’ “If I had one chance to tell you something”. I highly recommend it, especially for other teen age girls.
Comment from Jed
Time 2007/11/29 at 3:07 pm
Thanks for sharing, Bethany. You know, since you were kind enough to listen to my TMBG album a while back, it’s only fair that I should listen to your favorite album. Do you have it on CD? If so, would you mind if I borrow it?
Mr. Wheeler… ah, I think I see what you mean now. The old “two favorite ice creams” thing! Sorry, I’m kinda slow. So I take back what I said about your logic. However, we will just sorta sweep that logic under the rug for now, and pretend that it is indeed possible to have infinitely-many favorites from the same category.
Comment from Eloprah
Time 2007/11/29 at 6:28 pm
By album, I assume you mean “song collection,” not necessarily an LP or whatever they’re called? My favorites are:
1. 21 Lieder by Schubert, sung by *Dietrich Fischer Dieskau* accompanied by Gerald Moore
2. “Die Schone Mullerin,” by Schubert, sung by DFD, accompanied by Mr. Moore
3. Roger Kamien’s “Music, An Appreciation” It’s a musical anthology, comprised of some of arguably greatest classical music of all time
4. Music theory cd’s: The prof selected some ‘greats’ and put them together for us. Various artists
5. Mozart’s Requiem, by thePhilharmonia Orchestra; Carlo Maria Guilini, conductor. 1990
6. Patch the Pirate Goes West. Truly great music here, folks.
Comment from Bethany Wheeler
Time 2007/11/29 at 8:42 pm
Hey, I know Kamien’s Music Appreciation! In fact I was listening to it today as part of my music history curriculum. It’s a great resource! I know Patch the Pirate Goes West, too!
Jed, no I don’t have a hard copy of St. James’ latest album, but I do have her Live in Florida CD which contains several (of the best) songs from it. You’re welcome to borrow it.
Comment from Jed
Time 2007/11/30 at 3:09 am
Eloprah, thanks for sharing! I’ve heard so many good things about Mr. Dieskau. I simply must check out his works some time. Actually, I really need to get some exposure to classical music in general. I feel so uneducated. I do know about Patch the Pirate though — we won’t even go there today.
Bethany… sure, I would love to borrow it!
Comment from Wayne Elliott
Time 2007/11/28 at 2:35 am
Larry Norman and Queen II – respect!
The whole Ogre Battle through to The March of the Black Queen ensemble outshine even Bohemian Rhapsody and The Millionaire Waltz for textural changes.
And as for Larry – well he is just awesome. So Long Ago The Garden is probably my favourite.